Storage compartment liner with inflatable support ribs

ABSTRACT

The liner is of sheet fabric construction. It includes a bottom that is approximately the same size as the compartment floor. A side wall is provided on at least the sides and forward end. At least some of the walls include inflatable ribs for giving the side walls standup rigidity.

United States Patent Barnard [54] STORAGE COMPARTMENT LINER WITHINFLATABLE SUPPORT RIBS [72] Inventor: Delbert J. Barnard, 4845 NE.42nd, Seattle, Wash. 98105 [22] Filed: Apr. 29, 1970 [21] Appl.No.:32,976

[52] US. Cl ..296/39 R, 105/369 BA, 206/DIG. 30, 220/63 R [51] Int. Cl..B62d 33/04 [58] Field ofSearch ..296/1 R, 39; 280/150 R; 105/369 BA,423; 206/DIG. 30; 220/63; ISO/0.5; 214/105 D; 52/2 [56] I ReferencesCited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,898,146 8/1959 Yudenfreund ..296/39 [451Apr. 4, 1972 2,911,253 11/1959 Dewey ..296/39 3,018,492 1/1962 Rosen105/369 BA UX 3,552,466 l/197l Fairchilds.... ...l50/0.5 3,284,9651l/l966 Michenfelder ..52/2

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,179,466 l/l970 Great Britain..206/DlG. 30

Primary Examiner-Benjamin Hersh Assistant ExaminerLeslie J. PapernerAtt0meyGraybeal, Cole & Barnard [5 7] ABSTRACT The liner is of sheetfabric construction. It includes a bottom that is approximately the samesize as the compartment floor. A side wall is provided on at least thesides and forward end. At least some of the walls include inflatableribs for giving the side walls standup rigidity.

10 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures STORAGE COMPARTMENT LINER WITH INFLATABLESUPPORT RIBS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention Thepresent invention relates to liners for storage compartments, and inparticular motor vehicle cargo spaces, such as the rear compartment of astation wagon, for example.

2. Description of the Prior Art Owners of station wagons frequently usethem for hauling trash and yard trimmings to disposal stations. Thecargo carrying compartments of most modern day station wagons arefinished with fabric or composition materials. Unless the compartment islined these materials can become easily cut (e.g. by rose bush thorns orbarbs) or scarred. A lining is also desirable for keeping the cargocompartment clean. Small leaves, bush berries, twigs, etc. becomedislodged and fall into, and become difficult to remove from, crevicesand below the seats.

Usually the owner attempts to use a piece of canvas, a plastic tarp, ablanket, or the like, as a liner for the storage compartment. Adisadvantage of this arrangement is that the tarp or blanket must bepropped up on the sides and also at both the front and rear of thecompartment. Otherwise, there is no cover for the upright boundaries ofthe compartment which are usually made of less durable materials thanthe floor and need protection the most. Also, even if the liner isinitially successfully propped, the props are easily knocked down by thetrash or other cargo as it is inserted into the compartment.

It is known to tie or otherwise anchor flexible wall liners within cargocarrying compartments of commercial vehicles. Examples are shown by U.S.Pat. No. 2,377,989, granted June 12, 1945, to Ernest J. Braun, and U.S.Pat. No. 2,803,491, granted Aug. 20, 1957, to Loren A. Brown.

These anchor-in liners are unsuitable for use in station wagons becausestation wagon cargo compartments do not include suitable fittings towhich the liner may be anchored.

Hyman Yudenfreund, in his U.S. Pat. No. 2,898,146, granted Aug. 4, 1959,discloses a station wagon compartment liner composed of a plurality ofrigid panels hinged together by elongated piano style hinges. Thedisadvantages of this type of liner are at least twofold. Firstly, thepiano style hinges are easily bent and damaged. Secondly, a rigid lineris difficult to manipulate within the compartment and to remove from thecompartment. This is particularly true when dirt and other small debrisbecomes wedged in the intrices of the hinges, rendering them difficultto operate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Cargo compartment liners of the presentinvention are characterized by a limp bottom panel sized tosubstantially match the bottom dimensions of the compartment, and sidewalls. At least some of the side walls include inflatable tubelikecompartments constructed and arranged to when inflated provide standuprigidity in the side walls. At the same time, and a very importantfeature of the invention, the liner is flexible enough, and will deformwhen twisted and wiggled, so that it can be easily repositioned while inthe storage compartment, and can be pulled out of the compartment andemptied while the ribs are inflated.

This invention also relates to several different inflatable ribarrangements, and to several ways of connecting adjacent upright wallstogether.

These and other features of the invention are described below inreference to the drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is a top isometric view of astation wagon, with a portion of one side and the top cut away to showan inflatable liner typifying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the inflatable liner of FIG. I, in a flatuninflated condition;

FIG. 3 is a view like FIG. 2, but of a modified form of liner; and

FIG. 4 is a top isometric view showing the liner in a folded condition.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The liner of FIGS. 1 and 2 isshown to comprise a floor panel 10, a pair of side panels 12, 14, and apair of end panels l6, 18. The floor panel 10 is dimensioned, in width Xand in length Y, to closely approximate the width and length dimensionsof the storage compartment of a station wagon type vehicle. The heightor depth dimension of the side and end panels 12, 14, 16, 18 may be lessthan the height dimension of the storage compartment. However, thepanels l2, 14, 16, 18 should at least be high enough to cover all of theinterior trim materials used in the storage compartment below the glasslevel.

According to the invention inflatable ribs are incorporated in at leastsome of the side panels l2, 14, I6, 18, for the purpose of giving suchside panels form or body so that they are self-standing within thestorage compartment. A typical and particularly advantageous design andarrangement of the support ribs is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In thisembodiment a continuous tubular passageway 20 extends around the entireperiphery of the liner. As shown by FIG. 2, the passageway 20 traversesthe border portions of the panels 12, l4, 16, 18 which are not connectedto the floor panel 10. The passageway 20 forms both beams and ribs.Additional ribs 22, communicating at their upper ends with the beamportions at passageway 20 and closed at their lower end, may be providedin at least the side panels 12, 14, to provide additional stiffness.

The liner panels 10, 12, 14, l6, 18 may be constructed from any suitablematerial that is impervious to air, at least in the regions of theinflatable beams and ribs 20, 22, and a sufficient flexibility to permiteasy movement of the liner when inflated and easy folding of the linerwhen deflated. The liner should have a relatively tough outer skin whichis not easily puncturable by rose bush barbs or the like.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, a single fill opening 24 is providedin the top beam 20 of the rear panel 18. This fill opening 24 may be inthe form of a tubular stem having a closure cap, such as isconventionally used in air mattresses and inflatable cushions (e.g. asis shown in detail in FIG. 4 of U.S. Pat. No. 3,253,861, granted May 31,1966 to Howard S. Howard). If desired the various inflatable ribs andbeams 20, 22 could be divided into two or more sections, with eachsection being provided with a separate inlet tube.

A length of cord 26 is shown incorporated into each outer corner of eachpanel 12, 14, 16, 18. As shown by FIG. 1, prior touse the cords 26 ofadjacent corners are tied together to form the inflated side and endpanels, and the floor panel, into a rectangular box-like structure.

Some station wagons have laterally inwardly projecting wheel wells intheir storage compartments. To better accomodate the wheel well, thespaces W between intermediate ribs 22 of the side panels 12, 14 are madeto exceed in width the length of the wheel well somewhat, so that in usethe wheel wells lie in the flat fabric region between such ribs 22. Foruse with some station wagons, it may be necessary or at least desirableto curve one or both of the intermediate ribs 22 somewhat, for thepurpose of accomodating the wheel well.

Preparatory to use the beams and ribs 20, 22 are inflated, the forwardcords 26 are tied together, and the liner is inserted into the storagecompartment from the rear opening of the station wagon, normally closedby a tail gate TG. Then the garden trimmings or other debris D is loadedinto the storage compartment, within the confines of the liner.Following loading the rear panel 18 is raised and is tied in place, andthe tail gate TG is also raised and secured in place.

At the unloading site the tail gate TG and the rear panel 18 are loweredand the storage compartment is unloaded. In many instances the unloadingprocedure may involve the user grasping the handles 28, 30 and pullingthe liner and its contents D completely out from the storagecompartment. The inherent flexibility of the liner makes it possible totwist, turn and bend the inflated and loaded liner as necessary, duringthis removal procedure.

After the debris D is unloaded the beams and ribs 20, 22 are deflatedand the liner is shaken and swept if necessary. It is then folded upinto a compact package for storage (FIG. 4) in a similar fashion to theway a blanket would be folded.

In some installations it might be desirable to dispense with the rearpanel altogether, particularly when the inner surface of the tail gateTG is itself constructed from a tough, wear-resistant material. Asanother modification, the rear panel 18 may be made to be a continuationof the bottom panel 10, so that it does not stand up but merely layslimp as a drape or cover for the tail gate. This is a particularlyuseful arrangement when the load being carried prevents closing of thetail gate.

Another way of constructing the liner of FIGS. 1 and 2 is to make thebeams and ribs 20, 22 from a continuous, tubular inflatable member,separate from the liner itself, and then form pockets in the liner intowhich the tubular can be inserted and secured.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3 the front and rear panels 16', 18', as wellas the bottom panel are constructed to be limp or nonself-standing (i.e.they do not include inflatable stiffening ribs). Instead, all stiffeningribs are incorporated in the side panels 12', 14, and such supportedside panels 12', 114 in turn support the two end panels 16, 18'. By wayof typical example, the inflatable ribs may comprise a plurality ofside-by-side placed tubular compartments, some of which are designated22. The material forming the pockets 22' is sealed along a line 32,between the pockets 22'. A communicating passageway 34 is providedbetween each pair of pockets 22 on an alternating end basis, as isillustrated. The endmost ribs 22 of each side panel 12', 14 may beextended across the bottom panel 10, so that the two side sets ofinflatable ribs 22 are interconnected and only a single air inlet 24 isneeded.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3 the cords or tie members 26 are replaced bysnap fasteners. The box portions 38 of the fasteners may be mounted onflap-like ears on the outer corners of the end panels 16', 18, with thepin portions 40 being secured to the side panels 12', 14', near theoutside corners thereof. As shown by broken lines in FIG. 3, the ends ofthe flaps l6, 18, may be widened out to form a flap which overlaps asubstantial corner portion of the adjacent side panel 12, 14'. Theamount of overlap is indicated by the new location of the pin portion40.

In some installations it may be desirable to provide zippers along thecomer forming boundaries of the panels, for connecting the panelstogether, in lieu of using either tie members 26 or box-pin snapfasteners 38, 40.

A foot operated pump 42 may be incorporated into one of the ribs 22, andused for inflating the ribs 22'. By way of typical and thereforenonlimitive example, the pump may be of the type shown by US. Pat. No.3,155,991, granted Nov. 10, 1964, to Philip N. Dunham.

in all forms of the invention the walls of the inflatable pockets areformed from a material which will not stretch in response to inflation,or will only stretch a limited amount, so that such pockets can bepressurized.

Although only two embodiments of the present invention have beendisclosed and described in detail, it will be appreciated that otherspecific arrangements could be provided by a person skilled in the artwhich would serve equally well for the purpose intended, and would fallwithin the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A storage compartment of a motor vehicle having a floor and generallyupright side boundaries, and a'liner comprising a generally pliablefabric member including a generally pliable bottom panel positionable onthe floor of the storage compartment and generally pliable fabric sidepanel means connected to said bottom panel by fabric folds, said sidepanel means includin inflatable sufiport strut means which when inflatedprovi e the side w means with self-supportmg standup rigidity, andresulting in a liner which is relatively distortable in total, includingwhere the side wall means join the bottom panel.

2. The structure of claim 1, wherein said side panel means comprisespanels each including the said inflatable support strut means.

3. The structure claim 1, wherein the support strut means comprises aplurality of parallel tubular chambers incorporated in the side panelsmeans of the fabric member, which chambers are generally upright duringuse.

4. The structure of claim 3, wherein the side panel means furtherincluding elongated inflatable support beam means which in use ishorizontally disposed, defines an upper edge of the liner, andcommunicates with the upper ends of the support struts.

5. The structure of claim 4, wherein said side panel means includes atleast two opposed side panels having a plurality of generally parallelsupport struts communicating at their upper end with a said elongatedinflatable support beam, and the liner includes inflatable chambersinterconnected between the lower ends of the opposed struts at theopposite ends of the liner.

6. The structure of claim 4, wherein said side panel means includes atleast two opposed side panels in which the said struts are incorporated,and at least one additional side wall which is generally perpendicularto the opposed side walls and in use spans between the two ends of theopposed side panels at one end of the liner, and fastener means forsecuring the several side panels together generally where they meet andform a corner.

7. The structure of claim 1, wherein said side panel means comprises apair of opposed side panels, each of which includes an inflatablesupport strut at each of its ends, and wherein said liner includes atleast one end panel and fastener means for connecting the end panel tothe sides panels after all three panels have been raised into generallyupright positions.

8. The structure of claim 7, wherein said side panels each comprise aninflatable beam extending between and interconnecting the said supportstruts at the ends of said panels.

9. The structure of claim 8, wherein the side panels include a pluralityof intermediate inflatable support struts located between the saidsupport struts at the ends of the side panels, said intermediate supportstruts also communicating with the inflatable beam.

10. The structure of claim 1, wherein said bottom panel is sized toclosely match the floor dimensions of the storage compartment within thevehicle, which storage compartment has side walls, and said side panelmeans are sized, so that such side panel means extends upwardly in thestorage compartment a distance providing cover and protection for asubstantial portion of said side walls.

1. A storage compartment of a motor vehicle having a floor and generallyupright side boundaries, and a liner comprising a generally pliablefabric member including a generally pliable bottom panel positionable onthe floor of the storage compartment and generally pliable fabric sidepanel means connected to said bottom panel by fabric folds, said sidepanel means including inflatable support strut means which when inflatedprovide the side wall means with self-supporting standup rigidity, andresulting in a liner which is relatively distortable in total, includingwhere the side wall means join the bottom panel.
 2. The structure ofclaim 1, wherein said side panel means comprises panels each includingthe said inflatable support strut means.
 3. The structure claim 1,wherein the support strut means comprises a plurality of paralleltubular chambers incorporated in the side panels means of the fabricmember, which chambers are generally upright during use.
 4. Thestructure of claim 3, wherein the side panel means further includingelongated inflatable support beam means which in use is horizontallydisposed, defines an upper edge of the liner, and communicates with theupper ends of the support struts.
 5. The structure of claim 4, whereinsaid side panel means includes at least two opposed side panels having aplurality of generally parallel support struts communicating at theirupper end with a said elongated inflatable support beam, and the linerincludes inflatable chambers interconnected between the lower ends ofthe opposed struts at the opposite ends of the liner.
 6. The structureof claim 4, wherein said side panel means includes at least two opposedside panels in which the said struts are incorporated, and at least oneadditional side wall which is generally perpendicular to the opposedside walls and in use spans between the two ends of the opposed sidepanels at one end of the liner, and fastener means for securing theseveral side panels together generally where they meet and form acorner.
 7. The structure of claim 1, wherein said side panel meanscomprises a pair of opposed side panels, each of which includes aninflatable support strut at each of its ends, and wherein said linerincludes at least one end panel and fastener means for connecting theend panel to the sides panels after all three panels have been raisedinto generally upright positions.
 8. The structure of claim 7, whereinsaid side panels each comprise an inflatable beam extending between andinterconnecting the said support struts at the ends of said panels. 9.The structure of claim 8, wherein the side panels include a plurality ofintermediate inflatable support struts located between the said supportstruts at the ends of the side panels, said intermediate support strutsalso communicating with the inflatable beam.
 10. The structure of claim1, wherein said bottom panel is sized to closely match the floordimensions of the storage compartment within the vehicle, which storagecompartment has side walls, and said side panel means are sized, so thatsuch side panel mEans extends upwardly in the storage compartment adistance providing cover and protection for a substantial portion ofsaid side walls.